Reverse
by Thalia Lulu
Summary: "I told you that I'll give you a second chance when the times comes... I've been waiting for this young lady here..." Itachi/Sakura. Time Travel Fic.
1. Chapter 1

Sakura felt like she was floating. It was an odd feeling, something she hadn't experienced before and something she didn't expect after the fatal hit to her stomach. Her hands flew to her stomach, as if to search for the gaping, bloody hole, but she found nothing. She was touching smooth, warm skin, with the only imperfection being the scar Sasori had left her as a memory of their battle. As if she could ever forget. She tried to open her eyes but they stayed close, and after two more tries she gave up and just gave in to the floating, peaceful feeling. She emitted a relaxed sigh, dropping her hands to the side. She enjoyed the serenity and the lack of pain immensely. She didn't expect this after she died. She rarely thought about what came after you'd died, but this feeling of peacefulness and belonging wasn't something she had ever imagined. Once or twice, in her worst states, she had thought she'd end up in Hell, because of all of her failures, the biggest of all being failing to stop Sasuke and disappointing Naruto.

Suddenly, something grabbed her one of her hands, fingers curling around her wrist and yanked her downwards. She yelped and fell down, unable to stop herself. Surprisingly, she fell on her feet, although she did stumble before a hand grabbed her shoulder and stadied her on her feet. Her eyes were wide open, and she was staring at two pair of feet standing on immaculate whiteness. It wasn't ever floor. It felt hard underneath her feet, but strange. Her attention focused on the bigger feet, clearly male, and she slowly looked up, coming face to face with a handsome face, adorned with long black hair and the blackest eyes she had seen on someone since Sasuke. She blinked a couple of times as she stared at the familiar face, fully aware that he his fingers were still tightly curled around her wrist and that his other hand was on her shoulder, as if expecting her to fall after she had seen who he was. Sakura did feel like falling down, but she didn't allow herself weaknesses like this, especially in front of people like Uchiha Itachi.

"What's going on?" Her voice was hoarse, but her confusion and slight panic were detectable. Itachi seemed to sense that and he slowly let go of her hand and shoulder. His arms dropped by his sides and he stepped back, his lips curling a small, sad smile, something that startled Sakure even more than having him hold her hand.

"I'm sorry to say this, Haruno-san, but you are dead." He said this slowly, every word pronounced clearly. Sakura gulped and wrapped her arms around her torso. She knew that already, but to have someone else tell her (a dead man, at that), made it more real. There was no going back for her. Her eyes darted around the whiteness that surrounded them as she tried to hold back her tears and get rid of the bothersome stinging in her eyes. She wasn't going to cry. Not now, at least, not in front of him. When she looked back at Itachi, she saw him examining his hands as if they were supremely interesting, and with a rush of surprise, she realised he was giving her the privacy of composing herself.

"Okay. I'm dead." She said out loud, breathing through her nose. "What now?"

"You come with me." Itachi said, turning around.

"Where are we going?" Sakura couldn't keep the suspicion from her voice. She knew the truth about him and she highly doubted he'd do her any harm, especially now that she was dead, but old habits die hard.

"You don't have to worry about your safety, Haruno-san." Itachi said with a hint of amusement in his voice. "You are safe here." Sakura frowned but nodded slowly. Sakura didn't understand where they were going. They were surrounded completely by white space, she didn't see any exit. Just as she opened her mouth to ask, an outline of a door appeared in front of them and Itachi reached out to push it open. She closed her mouth with a snap, staring in bewilderment.

"After you." Itachi said as he stepped aside and waited for her to walk through the door. Sakura blinked, still surprised by his immaculate manners and stepped tentatively over the threshold. She was in, what looked like, a throne room. There were eight massive stone thrones positioned in a circle around an equally massive table. It was considerably darker out there and she felt her eyes relax, no longer having to strain in the bright, white room of nothingness. She looked over at Itachi questioningly, but he was looking around the room with just as much interested and curiosity she was feeling.

"You don't know where we are?" She asked, a bit crossly. He said she was safe, but he didn't know where they were going either. He couldn't have been sure she'd be safe.

"Actually, I think I do." He said thoughtfully, walking towards one of the thrones. "This is where the gods have their meetings." Sakura started, looking around her in awe. She supposed it was a given, a massive throne room like that looked like an appropriate place for the gods to have a chit-chat. But still, to be standing there, walking on the ground the gods stepped on, breathing the same air they breathed was the definition of awesome.

"It's empty." She said, disappointment dripping from her voice. Of course, the gods probably had other things to do than to sit around waiting for her to show up, but still.

"Not quite." A female voice came from somewhere close behind her. She whirled around and gaped when she saw the woman standing about three feet away from her. She had long, wavy black hair, pale skin and coffee brown eyes. She was dressed in a beautiful, glittering white dress that fell to the ground and dragged behind her. She had a thin, elegant tiara in her hair and the stone in the middle seemed to change colours, from red to green, blue and purple. It was magnificent to watch. She was magnificent. Possibly the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. "Oh, you flatter me." The woman said, laughing lightly. "Thank you for bringing her here, Itachi." Sakura looked over her shoulder and saw Itachi walking towards them. He stopped next to Sakura and bowed lowly.

"It was my pleasure, Mei-sama." He replied smoothly and straightened.

The woman laughed lightly again. "He is such a gentleman, is he not? So very hard to find nowadays, especially amongst the human race." She sighed deeply. "No matter! This isn't why I asked you two to meet me here. My name is Mei, dear, and I'm glad to have finally met you. I've been watching you and your friends for quite some time now. I haven't seen such a big group of strong people for a long time now. It was refreshing to watch. But, unfortunately —" The woman, Mei, gave Sakura sad look. "You are here now. But we won't have your death go to waste." She chuckled merrily, her eyes glittering mischievously. "You see, I have a plan." She glanced at Itachi. "and Itachi here is a part of it. "

Itachi and Sakura exchanged a look, not sure what kind of plan would involve both of them. Judging by the glint in Mei's eyes, she had a feeling she wouldn't like it.

"Oh, don't be so negative, dear." Mei said. Sakura frowned, realising this was the second time she had spoken as if she had read her mind. Looking at Mei and her knowing look, she realised that she could read her mind. _Great, _she thought sarcastically. "I try to block it out most of the time." Mei told her assuringly. "Now to the plan. I don't have much time before that irritating Inari comes here. She's such a gossip, and she doesn't like me." Mei scowled darkly, but her face brightened when she looked at them again. "Itachi, remember what I told you when you first came here? That I'll give you a second chance when the time comes?"

Itachi nodded slowly, his features shifting slightly to show incredulity.

Mei nodded. "Yes, the time has come. I've been waiting for this young lady here, either she or her friend, Naruto, but I doubt he'd be joining us soon and I can't hardly make you wait that long. I'm not cruel."

"Excuse me, but what are you talking about?" Sakura asked with a frown, looking between them. The fact that Itachi was letting them see what he was feeling spoke volumes. Sakura's curiosity got bigger and bigger and she turned to look questioningly at the goddess.

"Itachi will explain it all to you." Mei said. "But now you'll have to go." She extended her hand, palm up, and Sakura saw a thin silvery chain and a small pin with the kanji for destiny. "The pin is for you, Itachi, the necklace for Sakura, of course. You are to use them only as a last resort, in life or death situation. You can use it only three times, so use it wisely. It can be extremely dangerous. Now, put it on so I can establish a connection between us."

"What's going on?" Sakura asked, confused. Itachi took the pin without hesitation or questions and pinned it to his black shirt.

"Itachi will explain, Sakura." Mei said, her voice suddenly firm. "Put the necklace on."

"But I —" But Mei cut her off and turned to Itachi.

"Itachi, please." She said. Itachi nodded and took the necklace. Sakura jumped when he turned to her, as if ready to clasp it around her neck.

"I can do it myself." She snapped, her voice coming out harsher than she intended. The grabbed the necklace jerkily and clasped it around her neck.

Mei was all smiles again. She closed her eyes briefly, and Sakura felt the strangest sensation spreading through her entire body. She shook slightly, her eyes opening wide as she stared at the smiling goddess. "There!" She exclaimed, opening her eyes. She clapped her hands together and smiled happily. "We're all set. Now, Itachi take her hand."

Sakura opened her mouth to protests but snapped her mouth shut when Mei shot her a stern look. She let Itachi take her hand, feeling extremely uncomfortable. Mei smiled. "There, you see how easy it is, Sakura? Now, close your eyes, this might feel a bit uncomfortable.." Against her better judgement, Sakura closed her eyes and waited. She didn't have to wait long. A cold feeling started to creep up her legs and she squeezed Itachi's hand tightly. He squeezed back, as if assuring her she wasn't alone, which she would have thought as sweet, if not for the fact that her consciousness was slowly slipping away from her. She felt faint and she tried to open her eyes, but they stayed firmly shut. Just as she started to panic, she lost the last drop of consciousness left her and she fell into complete darkness.

oOoOo

Sakura woke up in a middle of a grass field, the gentle midday sun shining brightly above her. She blinked a couple of times as she pulled herself up, looking around her in complete bewilderment. On her right, she could see a portion of something big, like a large wall. She looked around, searching for Itachi, but he was nowhere in sight. She slowly stood up but stumbled. Thankfully, she managed to regain balance before she fell down on her ass. She blinked a couple of times as she stared at the ground, reaching out to run a hand through her hair. She blinked when her hair surfaced from her hair fairly quickly. In fact, she couldn't feel it falling down her back anymore. She had grown it long to about the middle of her back, but her hair was impossibly short now. Almost like..

She looked down at her hands, small and smooth, unmarred by hard work and scars, clean of blood. She blinked and looked down at herself, panic starting to settle in her. Her legs were short and skinny, she was wearing a painfully familiar red dress, and there was no hair to get in her eyes.

"No way..." She said. "No freaking way." She touched her face, as if to assure herself that she was real, but she felt the touch, she touched her soft cheeks, a bit chubby, not yet lost all the baby fat. "What's going on?" She muttered to herself as she looked around, as if her answer would pop out from behind a tree. "This can't be happening. This is impossible."

_"I'll give you a second chance when the times comes... I've been waiting for this young lady here..."_

"No way." Sakura gaped. There was no fucking way. She was being ridiculous. This couldn't be happening. It was _impossible. _No one could travel back in time. No one. **_Except a goddess, apparently._**

No.

This couldn't be the answer. Maybe she was in some sort of a bizarre genjutsu. After all, Itachi was involved and he was a master of genjutsu. She brought her hands together and concentrated, hoping it was a genjutsu. "Kai!" She shouted. She opened her eyes and found that she was still standing in the middle of the field, the gentle breeze rustling her long hair and blowing shorter strands in her eyes. "Kai! Kai! KAI!" Nothing happened. No matter how many times she repeated it or how much chakra she put into it, the picture of the beautiful field didn't waver. She crumbled to the ground and put her head in her hands. What was she going to do now? If this wasn't a mean genjutsu, than she was really back in time. What was she supposed to do? What did they expect her to do?

She was terrified.

Maybe she was just going crazy. She was bound to crack some day.

It was a plausible, albeit undesirable. She sighed as she looked up and fisted her hands in her hair, frowning deeply. The large wall caught her eyes and her head snapped to her right. It looked familiar and Sakura had no doubt what was behind the large wall. She stood up slowly, more careful this time and tested her step. She felt odd, unbalanced. Her brain was telling to to take bigger steps. She wasn't supposed to be that short. She wasn't used to the shorter limbs and smaller weight. She felt weird in her skin.

**_Exactly how I felt when I was twelve._**

She sighed and pushed her hair behind her ears. Well, she had nothing else to do but go. She wanted to see if Konoha was the way she remembered it to be.

oOoOo

It was. Sakura walked down the familiar streets, seeing the same people she remembered seeing when she was twelve. The Hokage mountain had only four heads, which meant that she had landed somewhere before Naruto and Jirayia went to search for Tsunade, which also meant that Sasuke was still in the village. A thrill shut up her body, but she squashed it down. The last time she had seen Sasuke, he had tried to kill her. As much as she wanted to forget it had ever happened, she couldn't. He had been set on killing her. He hadn't hesitated at all. If it hadn't been for Naruto, he would have killed her with the Chidori. She shuddered violently at the memory of the deadly jutsu, the shrieking and cracking behind her, the thought of this being the last thing she'd ever hear before Sasuke shoved it in her. The boy who she loved stupidly and unconditionally, killing her in cold blood.

She swallowed, her throat suddenly feeling tight. No, she had cried enough tears about that. She wasn't going to cry anymore. Besides, she'd probably look extremely weird if she suddenly burst into tears in the middle of one of Konoha's busiest streets. She changed her course towards her house. She needed to pull herself together and act normal, because her mother had the uncanny ability to see right through her. Sometimes, she had better intuition than a ninja and that was saying something. On her way to her house, she was stopped by Sasuke, who nearly trampled her over.

The shock of seeing him again in his thirteen year old form was startling to say the least. She stared at him, in her shock not noticing the frantic, almost crazy look on his face.

"Sakura! Have you seen Naruto?" He was nearly yelling. That snapped her out of her shock and she blinked a couple of times, nothing the way his chest heaved up and down and his eyes were shining with maniac light. She took a step back, shaking her head. "Damn it!" He spun on his and continued to run, jumping on a nearby building. Sakura watching go with wide eyes, until something clicked. She remembered the last time had been so frantic to find Naruto, and that hadn't ended well at all.

"Wait, Sasuke!" She shouted after him and pumped chakra in her legs to help her with her speed. She caught up to him when he stopped in front of Ichiraku's. She frowned as she glanced at the road forward. Her hands' clenched into fists and she continued to run on top of the building, the direction of the hotel where she knew Naruto and Jirayia were staying in. She landed on the roof of the hotel building, breathing heavily. She could feel three chakra signatures, one of which was Naruto's, the other two she knew belonged to Itachi and his partner, Kisame. She looked around. She had to get Jirayia to interfere earlier than the last time. He had to get rid of the two of them before Sasuke showed up. She jumped off the building, landing neatly on her feet and startling a few people. Jirayia could be in only one place. She didn't have to even search for long. She heard Jirayia's booming laugh coming from within a dingy bar and she quickly burst through the door, not caring what she might find in there. She doubted he had gotten lucky anyway.

"Jirayia-sama!" She cried out.

"Wha-?" Sakura wrinkled her nose when she saw his lecherous expression. His expression cleared when he saw her. "You're on Naruto's team, aren't you? What are you doing here? You're too young to be in a place like this."

"You have to come with me." Sakura said and gritted her teeth when Jirayia's eyes fell on the breast of the busty woman who sat on the couch next to him. "Naruto's in danger." She said, hoping that would break him out of it. "Big guys with black cloaks and clouds. They're scary."

Sure enough, that seemed to shake Jirayia out of his stupor. He sprang on his feet and looked down at the woman. "I'm sorry, my sweet, but I have to go." Sakura turned around and ran back to the hotel. She ran through the door and didn't stop when the man at the reception yelled at her to stop. She ran up the stairs until she reached the floor where she felt the chakras. Jirayia had already joined them.

"Naruto!" She shouted when she saw him standing close to two fearsome Akatsuki. He whirled around and his eyes widened when she saw her. Jirayia seemed too proccupied talking about himself to notice her coming. Sakura ran up to Naruto and stood by his side, resisting the urge to glare at Itachi and meet his gaze. She had to know if he was the Itachi who she met when she died or the old Itachi.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto stuttered in his shock. "What are you doing here? Those guys are dangerous."

Sakura nodded. "I know."

Jirayia finally noticed her standing there and raised his eyebrows. "Pinky, Naruto, stand back, I'm going to take care of this."

"Be quick about it, if you can." Sakura said. Jirayia's bushy eyebrows rose even higher at that but he nodded without a comment, his hands forming a quick seal. Sakura felt a weird sensention that lasted for just a second and then a voice filled her ears.

"Haruno-san." Sakura jumped. She looked at Itachi, still conscious about not looking in his eyes. "We need to talk quickly. I know you must be confused about what is happening to you. I assure you this is not a genjutsu, as you're probably thinking. It is a deal I striked with Mei-sama. You are, indeed, back in time."

Sakura couldn't help it. She looked up and glared right into his red eyes. "You could have told me what was happening! I thought I was going crazy!" Kisame, Jirayia and Naruto didn't seem to notice their conversation at all. It was all happening in Sakura's head.

Itachi looked apologetic. "I'm sorry but we were hard-pressed with time. We'll have a chance to talk about this another time. I'll explain everything. Now we must return to the present."

"Wait!" Itach paused and looked at Sakura. "Can you please not trash Sasuke when he comes here? His meeting with you was the thing that made him leave and I can't.. I can't lose him again." She looked down at her hands, uncomfortable and ashamed at showing so much emotion in front of him. He dispelled the genjutsu without answering.

"Kisame." Itachi spoke, turning to his partner. "We're leaving."

Kisame was so startled he nearly dropped his sword. "What?"

"We're leaving." Itachi repeated. "We won't be able to capture the boy now. We'll return another time." Kisame opened his mouth to argue, staring at his partner, indignation and shock in his eyes. Itachi didn't say anything else before he disappeared in a poof of smoke, a single leaf twirling in the air before it fell to the ground. Kisame gritted this teeth, glared at all of them and followed his partner.

"Itachi!" Jirayia, Naruto and Sakura turned when they heard Sasuke's enraged cry. His fierce look dropped when he didn't see his brother anywhere in the vicinity. "Where is he?" He snapped, clenching his fists. "He was right here! I could feel him."

"He left." Sakura said softly.

Sasuke's eyes fell on her. "You said you didn't know where Naruto was!" He hissed, glaring venomously.

"I didn't." Sakura replied, trying not to flinch at the look in his eye.

"Sasuke... this guy..." Naruto spoke tentatively, watching Sasuke carefully, his eyes wide with realisation. "This is the guy who killed your family? The one who you want to kill?"

Sasuke's hands clenched into fists again and he whirled around, running down the stairs. Naruto turned to look at Sakura helplessly.

"We're okay." She said softly, earning herself a confused look from him. "We're all okay."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Oh my god, I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update. It's been over a month since I published this story and it's unacceptable of me to be updating the second chapter this late. You all probably lost interest in the story. But I do have an excuse. Finals were a bitch and my life was pretty suck-ish the past month. Everything's fine now, so I should get back in track and start writing more frequently. I hadn't been slacking off completely, though. I was also busy watching clips of Itachi, in hopes of understanding his character better so I wouldn't butcher him completely in my story. I want to keep him in character because I think he has such a beautiful personality. It's so sad that he had to live the life he had.

Thank you all for the kind words. I'm glad you liked the story and I hope you continue reading it, despite my late updates!

* * *

Sasuke was ignoring her and not in the you-are-annoying-stop-bothering-me-with-your-nonsense way but in a I-am-angry-at-you-and-I-am-making-a-point-of-ignoring-you-to-make-you-feel-bad-about-what-you-did way. If she said it didn't bother her, she'd be lying but she had also given up on trying to make him see reason. She knew he wasn't only angry at her but at himself for being so close to Itachi but missing him again. Every time she'd tried to broach the subject and tried to explain herself to him, he glared her into silence. He firmly believed she had kept him from finally killing Itachi, which was stupid in her opinion.

But she didn't have the nerve to tell him that he couldn't put a scratch on Itachi with the abilities he had now. She imagined that wouldn't help him get over his anger towards her. So she kept quiet and waited for his anger to subside and disappear eventually. After all, he couldn't be angry at her forever.

Kakashi was in the hospital, still recovering from his encounter with Itachi, so she and Sasuke were left on their own devices. Naruto was still on the search for Tsunade and Sakura hoped they'd back soon. She wanted to take her role of apprentice again so she could use her medical ninjutsu and taijutsu freely without having to explain herself.

Speaking of taijutsu, she'd started training vigorously. She was incredibly weak physically and that just wouldn't do. She wasn't content with being the weakling in their little, dysfunctional team, and she was going to prove to all three of them.

She barely saw Sasuke the next few days that followed. She spent most of her time on the training grounds, doing various strength building exercises and occasionally demolishing a tree or two when she got frustrated by her weak, mostly untrained body. She had chosen a training ground that no one seemed to visit, and she could take out her anger on the surrounding nature without worrying that someone could see her.

Today, however, instead of heading towards the training grounds after she'd had lunch, she headed towards the hospital. She wanted to speak to Kakashi about something important and she also wanted to sign up as a volunteer. She didn't want her vast medical knowledge to go to waste, just because of unfortunate circumstances. Also, she imagined Tsunade would be surprised by the already mentioned vast knowledge and she wanted her volunteer work in the hospital to back her up when Tsunade questioned her.

Sakura walked through the double doors and inside the familiar building, breathing in the familiar, slightly unpleasant smell of the hospital with a smile on her face. She walked over to the reception, where a woman in her early thirties sat. Sakura remembered her vaguely, not enough to know her name. She had left the position shortly after Sakura had started working in the hospital and she never got the chance to get to know the woman.

"Hello." She greeted with a polite smile. The woman looked up and her warm brown eyes crinkled slightly at the corners as she smiled.

"Hello, dear." She greeted, her voice just as warm as her eyes. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm here to visit a patient. Hatake Kakashi."

The woman nodded and rifled through a stack of papers. A minute later, she looked up. "Hatake-san is in room 213 on the third floor. Do you want me to sent someone to accompany you there?"

Sakura shook her head. She knew how to navigate her way through the hospital. "That won't be necessary. Thank you. I also wanted to sign up as a volunteer."

The woman blinked, clearly surprised. "Okay." She said and rummaged through the files on her desk. "You'd have to fill this form and give it to me." She said, handing Sakura a slip of paper. She paused. "What is your name, dear?"

"Sakura."

The woman smiled. "Sakura. What a pretty name and it suits you so much!" Sakura's lips stretched into a smile and she felt her cheeks getting a bit warm. The woman chuckled. "Well, don't let me keep you, then!"

"I'll give the form on my way back." She said and turned around, heading for the stairs. In no time she was standing in front of Kakashi's room. She pushed the door open and walked in, a smile on her face.

"Hello, Kakashi-sensei!" She greeted the ninja sitting on the bed.

The masked ninja looked up from his ever-present book and his lone eye betrayed his surprise at seeing her there. "Sakura?" He greeted, her name coming as a more of a question than an actual greeting. "I'm surprised to see you here."

"Why? You're my sensei, after all." She smiled and walked over to his bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Good." He replied. "Excellent, in fact, but the medical staff doesn't seem to think so, for some reason." He sounded mildly disgruntled. Sakura was surprised they'd managed to keep him in the hospital for so long. He always found a way to escape.

"Well, they are the medics. They know best." Sakura said, playing with the paper in her hands.

Kakashi's eyes were drawn to her hands and he raised a single eyebrow in question.

"I'm volunteering in the hospital." She explained, folding the form in two. "I've decided I want to become a medical ninja."

His other eyebrow joined in high on his forehead. He looked surprised. "You know, I think it suits you and with your chakra control, you'd have no problem picking up medical ninjutsu."

"Yes, exactly." Sakura said with a nod. She bit her lower lip uncertainly, glancing at Kakashi from underneath her lashes. She wondered how exactly to go about the matter. Sometimes, the best way to deal with Kakashi was to be blunt, and so she opened her mouth and did just that. "Kakashi-sensei, I came here for something else as well." Kakashi didn't seem surprised, just expectant. He even put his book down on his lap and gave her his full attention. "After you're feeling better and the hospital discharges you, I think you should start training Sasuke seriously."

Kakashi stared at her and she shifted under his scrutinizing gaze. The silence seemed to stretch for ages and Sakura was starting to get restless but then Kakashi spoke. "What makes you think I haven't been training him seriously?"

"Because it's obvious." Sakura replied boldly. "Look, I don't agree with Sasuke's plans for the future but if he doesn't feel like he's taken seriously here, he's going to leave." Kakashi seemed taken a back by her certainty. "You know how focused on getting stronger he is and if he feels like he can't receive the right training he deserves here, he _will_ leave. His revenge is more important to him than betraying the village." She paused and added in a quieter voice. "Or us."

"These are some very serious accusations you're making here, Sakura." Kakashi spoke after a pause, his voice more serious now. His lone eye narrowed. "Don't you have any faith in Sasuke?"

Sakura pursed her lips. _No, _she wanted to say, _no, I don't have any faith in him. I've lived through his departure once and I would try my best not to go through it again. _Of course, she didn't say this out loud, instead she fell silent and formed her response carefully. "I know the extent of Sasuke's obsession with revenge and I think you know it too. I think it's high time we stopped ignoring it. After we met Orochimaru and he offered Sasuke all the power he wanted, well, don't you think he was tempted? That he's _still _tempted? I'm not stupid enough to ignore the obvious signs, Kakashi-sensei."

"You've changed." Kakashi spoke, squinting at her thoughtfully. Sakura could see a bit of suspicion there too and tried not to avert her eyes from his. That would be a sure sign that something was wrong. Instead, she held his eyes and waited for him to speak again. She hoped she'd gotten through him. "I don't know what prompted this drastic change in you, Sakura. It's very sudden." His stare was more suspicious now, if not a bit accusing. "But I have to admit that what you said is true." He sighed and rubbed his eye. "I've tried not to dwell too much on it. I thought that Sasuke would eventually give up, after he met spent more time with you and Naruto, he started to change. But after Orochimaru..." He trailed off. "I would take what you said in consideration. In the mean time — " His eye formed a U-shape, and she knew he was smiling. "We need to establish a training regime for you, too, don't we?"

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. A training regime? Kakashi had never taken interested in training her personally before, as hurtful and annoying that had been. She had to search help somewhere else to get stronger and she couldn't deny that she felt bitterness towards him for this particular reason. Still, she supposed her change of attitude had given him some hope that she wasn't that useless after all. She snapped out of it when Kakashi spoke again.

"Since I'd be spending most of my time with Sasuke, training him _seriously._" He emphasized on the word and Sakura let herself small a little at his jab. "I won't be present for most of your training but I can still help you." He fell silent for a moment and then spoke again. "You have a natural aptitude for genjutsu and that's something you shouldn't ignore. You should use as much of your natural talent as you can. You can take a few scrolls from the library. There aren't many strong genjutsu there but enough to challenge you for a while, since you're a beginner. You should also talk with Kurenai, she's the leader of Team Eight. She's the best genjutsu specialist we have in the village and I'm sure she'd be glad to help you. After you've mastered some moderately strong genjutsu, I'll lend you some of my scrolls."

Sakura's eyes widened even further. He was actually taking this seriously! He really was going to train her, if indirectly. He seemed amused by her shocked reaction.

"Taijutsu is your weakest point." He spoke. "Talk with Gai. I know he can be a bit handful but he would be glad to help you and he won't let you slack off." Here Sakura glared at him indignantly. She wasn't a slacker, thank you very much. He chuckled at her reaction. "I would be taking care of your ninjutsu training. Aside from the medical ninjutsu training you'd probably get in the hospital, I want to check what your chakra nature is. After that, we can start with basic ninjutsu and build it up from there."

Sakura stared at Kakashi, speechless. For all the years she knew him, he had never acted like an actual teacher to her. It was the first time she felt truly acknowledged by him and the warm feeling that blossomed inside her couldn't be described with words.

"You don't have to look so surprised." His voice was mild but the underdone was slightly offended. "I am your teacher, after all."

"..right." She said after she had gotten her wits about her. She cleared her throat and straightened her spine. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi waved his hand dismissively and picked his book again. Sakura took that as a sign that she should leave now. She stopped, though, when she remembered that there had been another reason to visit him, beside the one she had already voiced. "Um, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi glanced at her and that was enough to prompt her to speak again. "I wanted to talk to you about something else as well." He didn't say anything, just waited for her to continue. "It's about Sasuke's curse mark." He looked up at the mention of the mark.

"The mark is — "

"Sealed." Sakura finished for him. "But not permanently, right? No offense Kakashi-sensei, but sealing is not your strongest point, is it?"

"The mark is under control for now." Kakashi spoke and Sakura couldn't tell if he was offended by her statement or not. She bit on her lower lip and nodded.

"I know that. I have faith in your ability to seal it but _not _permanently isn't really secure, is it?" She wrung her hands together under Kakashi's heavy gaze and continued. "I did some research about sealing and on people who are skilled in finjutsu and I found that Jirayia of the Sannin is one of the best finjutsu specialists alive. I was wondering if you could talk to you about it, after he and Naruto return."

"You make a good point." Kakashi said, looking slightly surprised. "I don't know why I haven't thought about it."

Sakura smiled, glad that she hadn't offended him in any way. "Well, that's all I had to say today." She said and gave a small bow. "I'll see you after you've been discharged."

"Let's hope it's soon." Kakashi muttered.

Sakura grinned as she straightened and waved at her sensei. "Bye, Kakashi-sensei!"

He nodded in response and Sakura left with a bounce to her step. Unbeknownst to her, she had left a very thoughtful Kakashi in her wake. Her change of attitude, albeit welcome, was very strange. He also couldn't shake the feeling of déjà vu as she looked at her. In those few minutes, she had reminded him so much of Rin, it had hurt physically. If there had been any doubts about Team Seven being the almost mirror copy of his own team, there were none now.

He just hoped that they wouldn't end up the same way they had. Two death and one alive, drowning and sorrows and regrets. He didn't wish that sort of ending to anyone.

* * *

Two days later, Sakura ran into Sasuke. She was doing here morning laps and she had taken a detour to drink some water from the small river by the village's walls. She stumbled on Sasuke, who was practicing his fire jutsu with an extreme concentration, the ferocious look in his eyed undoubtedly meaning he was thinking about his brother and scorching him alive.

Itachi... she didn't know what to think about him. It had been easy to hate him when she didn't know the truth and thought him to be the very personification of evil but after she'd found out the truth, her entire view of him had went out the window to be replaced by confused emotions. She was still angry at him. He had ruined Sasuke's life, though unwillingly and she felt like that was something she'd never be able to forgive him. But he wasn't evil and he cared deeply for his brother, even though showed it in the strangest way possible.

He had promised to explain to her their current predicament, but she hadn't heard from him at all and it'd been almost two weeks since the last time she had seen him. She wondered if he'd contact her and if he was just lying so she wouldn't make a big fuss.

But that didn't make any sense. She doubted Mei-sama would leave things like that. She had instructed Itachi to tell her what was going in and she doubted he had the gals to go against a real deity, especially a deity that had given him a second chance at life.

So she had to wait for him to contact her. If she wasn't so busy training, she'd probably find it within herself to be angry at him for completely ignoring her.

But back to Sasuke. He didn't seem to have noticed her, which in itself said a lot about his concentration. She stopped under the shade of the tree, away from the strong rays of the August sun, and watched him train. He'd probably be annoyed at her for watching him but it wasn't like he wasn't annoyed with her already, so she had nothing to lose.

Eventually, he got tired of breathing fire and coughed, rubbing his throat. Then, he noticed her presence. A scowl manifested on his face and he shoved his hands in his pockets.

Sakura stepped from under the shade of the tree uncertainly and spoke. "Has Kakashi-sensei talked to you?" She had seen her silver-haired sensei in the busy crowd of the streets yesterday, which meant he had been discharged from the hospital.

His confused expression was enough of an answer for her without him having to speak. "No." He said clearly and frowned. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing." She said breezily and moved towards the river. She expected him to leave after that but he didn't. He stayed rooted on spot. She felt his eyes on her back as she knelt by the river and gathered water in her hands, bringing to her mouth and sipping contentedly from it. The cool water felt divine as it slid down her dry throat and she leaned back on her haunches with a content sigh.

Sasuke was still there.

"What does Kakashi want with me?" His voice was slightly guarded as he said this, but some of his curiosity slipped through anyway. Sakura smiled and stood up.

"You'd have to find out by yourself." She said as she turned around. She nearly smiled when his scowl deepened. "I have to go now. I was in the middle of training." As if it wasn't clear. Her messy and sweaty appearance was an instant give away. She waved a hand at Sasuke. "Ja ne!"

oOoOo

Her mother greeted her with a glare and sulky air about her. Sakura stopped uncertainly at the threshold of the kitchen, watching her mother chop the carrots for the tempura she was making for dinner. Her movements were jerky and there was a deep frown marring her youthful face. Sakura's mother looked younger than she actually was but lately, frown lines had started to settled around her mouth and forehead. Sakura had a feeling that was her fault and she couldn't help but feel guilty about it. She knew she worried her mother with her choice of lifestyle but she loved it too much to suddenly stop being kunoichi. Not to mention the number of responsibilities she had now. She couldn't turn away from it. Her mother would have to accept this fact.

"What are you making?" Sakura asked, even though it was obvious just looking at the countertops covered in ingredients needed for tempura.

"What time is it, Sakura?" Her mother asked instead, setting aside the chopped pieces of carrot and starting on the sweet potatoes. _Poor potatoes, _Sakura thought as she watched her mother angry chopping.

"It's eight." Sakura mumbled, feeling slightly small as her mother turned to look at her.

"Yes, eight. When did you go out?" Sakura's mother turned away and continued the preparations for dinner.

Sakura shifted guiltily. "Six."

"Exactly." Her mother said, her back facing her. "You were gone fourteen hours. _Fourteen hours, _Sakura! Do you have any idea how worried I was? I know that you're busy and you have a lot of things to do. I'm trying to understand and accept that to the best of my abilities but when you disappear for an entire day without stopping by for just a minute to assure me that nothing had happened to you — " She halted suddenly and took a deep breath. "I just wish you'd realise how worried I am about you."

"I know that you're worried." Sakura began gently, finally entering the kitchen. "But, mum, nothing could ever happen to be while in the village. Konoha is completely safe." All lies. Konoha wasn't completely safe but her mother didn't need to know that. She didn't need to worry any more than she already did. "I was out training and I guess I just lost track of time and — "

"You always do." Her mother said quietly, turning around to face her. She dropped the knife on the chopping board and wrapped her arms around her. "Lately, all you ever seem to do is train and it scares me. I thought that eventually, you would give up on being a ninja. I thought that this was just a whim and that was why I agreed to enroll you in the Academy. Your father's so proud of you, though." Tears started to gather in the corners of her eyes. "But I just can't deal with the fact that my little girl is training to be a killer. I just can't."

Sakura stepped forward, her stomach sinking. "Mum — "

"Go take a shower. You're dirty and you smell and I won't have you sit on the table looking like this." She sniffed and wiped away the tears. "Go now."

"Mum, I — "

"Go now, Sakura." Her mother's voice was final. Sakura's shoulders sagged, recognising defeat and she left for her room. She walked inside her room and closed the door behind her, leaning against the it tiredly. She was sore all over but content with her training. Tomorrow, she'd join Gai and Lee on their morning routine, which started at the crack of down and finished around lunch. She tried to imagine how taxing it'd be and could only smile.

Then she remembered her mother and her smile faded.

_"I just can't deal with the fact that my little girl is training to be a killer. I just can't."_

Sakura's hands clenched into fists and she closed her eyes. She knew her mother disapproved of her shinobi life but she had never said something like this to her. Never. But she supposed it was better for her to just say it to her face instead of hiding it, along with her resentment towards her choice.

It hurt, though. Her mother thinking of her as a killer was something Sakura had never wanted but she supposed it was a given, considering her job. She sighed and rubbed her temples. Her mother would just have to deal with it.

She stripped off her dirty, smelly clothing as she walked across the room and dropped them on her desk chair. She shivered as she stood only in her panties and the bindings around her chest but didn't move. Her attention had been captured by something on her desk.

There was a scroll on her desk. A scroll that hadn't been there this morning, she was sure of it. She had cleared her desk completely last night and there had been nothing on it except the stack of medical textbooks. She frowned and reached hesitantly towards the scroll. She stopped before her fingertips touched the scroll and gnawed on her lip thoughtfully. She doubted it was dangerous but it wouldn't hurt to be cautious. She charged a bit of chakra to the tips of her fingers and touched the scroll lightly. The seal broke the second her chakra touched it and the scroll rolled open a little.

Clearly, the scroll wasn't dangerous. She grabbed it, her curiosity getting the better of her.

_Sakura-san, please meet me in the Nara forest around four tomorrow. Mei-sama says hello._

There was no signature but she didn't need one. She knew who it was.

She was finally going to get the answers she needed.


	3. Chapter 3

In the early, sunny afternoon, Sakura headed towards the Nara forest, feeling quite shady as she did so. She tried to look calm and normal, and not show how nervous she actually was. She had a lot of reasons to feel nervous about her meeting with Itachi. First of all, it _was _Itachi and while she was quite sure he wouldn't hurt her — he had no reason to — he'd been the enemy for years. Second, she'd be getting information. Of course, she was glad that she'd no longer be left in the dark but she'd had enough to time to realise just how dangerous their situation was. Not only that, but responsibility they carried was just enormous.

They hadn't even asked her if she wanted to take on the job! They hadn't even bothered to tell her that there was a job to begin with. Well, to be fair, it was not like she would have said no, but it was the principle of the thing. But it was not like she could complain to Uchiha Itachi, least of all to a deity. She'd just have to suck it up, sit down and listen to what Itachi had to say. Hopefully, he'd make sense of this situation.

And third, it was the situation. She was sneaking in the Nara forest — she was unsure how she'd accomplish that, since Shikamaru had told them that no one outside their clan could enter the forest without a special permission from a member of the clan — and not only that, but she was sneaking in the forest to meet with a man everyone thought to be their enemy. She couldn't even begin to imagine how Sasuke would react if he knew who she was about to meet with. It certainly wouldn't help her win a place back in his good books.

The good thing was that there was no way he could find out, unless he was stalking her, which she found highly doubtful. Especially considering Kakashi's latest interest with his training. Sakura allowed herself a smug smirk and a mental pat on the back for job well done.

Sakura mentally thanked the Nara for having their forest in such a convenient, remote place such as the outskirts of the village. There were no people around to witness her skulking about a private area, owned by one of Konoha's most prestigious clans and she felt her confidence increase. Still there was the matter of not being allowed to enter to think about.

There must be some sort of a way to enter without needing a permission if Itachi could do it. Now, if he had been so kind as to share this piece of information in his little letter to her, she'd have been eternally grateful. She bit on her lip thoughtfully, standing a couple of feet away from the entrance.

Turned out, she needn't have worried. Just as she was contemplating just storming in without a care in the world (She could lie her way around it, she was a civilian born after all and she could say she'd gotten lost and didn't know that she wasn't supposed to be inside the forest without a permission if it came down to it. Of course, that'd be a blow to her pride — getting _lost _in Konoha, how embarrassing — but she preferred them to think of her as an uncoördinated idiot rather than a traitor, thanks.), so just as she was about to storm inside the forest, a small black cat came out the shadows — like, it literary sprung from the shadows like it was a part of them — and halted in front of her. Brows furrowed, Sakura knelt in front of the cat and stared at it in confusion. And then the cat opened its mouth and spoke.

"Please follow me. Itachi-san said not to worry about the protection jutsu." With that being said, the cat spun around and ran inside the forest. Sakura had a second to recover from the shock of hearing the animal speak and follow the cat before it had disappeared from her sight. She briefly wondered what Itachi had done about the protective jutsu, but when she realised she'd soon have the chance to question him, about this and a lot of many things, she only concentrated on running and the excited pounding of her heart. It was hard to keep track of the cat, since it was pure black and the huge, rich crowns of the trees made it impossible for light to enter but somehow she managed.

She halted, startled, when the cat suddenly dug her nails in the dirt and froze on spot. Sakura looked around wildly, searching for what might have made the cat stop in such abrupt way but she found nothing. Raising her eyebrows, she turned around to look at the feline, her mouth already open to form her question but instead of words, a small squeak fell from her lips when instead of a cat, there stood Uchiha Itachi, quite literary looming over her.

"Uh..." Look away. _Look away. _Her common sense was screaming instructions at her but nothing seemed to register except for Itachi's hypnotizing, intense eyes. Sakura knew that the Sharingan had that effect on people — she'd often lost herself in Sasuke's sharingan eyes — but the pull his eyes had on hers was too much. It was like they demanded to be looked at. Sasuke's eyes had been hypnotizing as well but not to this extent. Then she remembered that back when she had the luxury of staring in Sasuke's sharingan without the threat of him putting her under some horrible genjutsu or just plain killing her was when his sharingan hadn't fully developed. "Uh.." She was fully aware she sounded like an idiot and probably looked like one too.

Fortunately, Itachi was merciful enough to avert his eyes. Sakura shook herself out of it and took a couple of steps backwards, feeling uncomfortable with their close proximity. "Where's the cat?" She asked once her brain started to function properly.

"She's gone." Itachi replied shortly in a calm voice. "Now, I assume you have questions for me."

"Damn straight I do!" Sakura exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips, two weeks of frustration because of his silence rushing back to the front of her mind. "Are we really back in time? This is not some twisted genjutsu or a way for Mei-sama to amuse herself?"

"This is not a genjutsu." Itachi replied and Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, despite already knowing that. She just needed to hear him confirm it. "As for this being a source of amusement for Mei-sama... I'm not entirely sure. It might as well be, but she has also... emphasized with my — our — situation and agreed to help us in any way she can. I will advice you to treat her generosity with respect." His statement was accompanied by a reproachful look.

Sakura frowned, crossing her arms in front of her non-existent chest indignantly. "I respect her generosity! I'm just confused, that's all. This is a bit too much to take in, you realise."

Itachi nodded solemnly, an apologetic look in his eyes. Sakura stared, surprised, as he bowed his head a fraction in a gesture of apology. "Please forgive me for being so rude. I was unsure myself of which route Mei-sama had decided to take. We had a few plans but we never had the time to decide which one will prove to be the most successful. This plan was our last resort, since it is the most dangerous. I'm sure you have already realised the seriousness of our situation and the responsibility we currently hold in our hands. I'm sorry to have dragged you with me, but Mei-sama and I agreed that it will be for the best if I didn't try to do everything on my own this time around."

_At least he learned from his mistakes_, Sakura thought with a mixture of pity and some lingering resentment. It would be hard to look past his actions despite knowing the true reason behind them. Willingly or not, he had ruined Sasuke's life and turned him into the sadistic, heartless monster that nearly killed her and Naruto on a few occasions.

"You said something about a deal back in the hotel." Sakura said, her brow wrinkling in thought. "What did you mean by that? What kind of deal?"

"You don't have to concern yourself with this." Itachi replied smoothly, his eyes focused on the tree next to Sakura. "My deal doesn't involve you. Consider this a favour — a free ride to a brighter, easier future without having to give anything return."

Sakura's eyes narrowed suspiciously, something about the way he phrased that bothered her — not having to give anything in return? If she was having a so-called "free ride" than what could he possibly be giving in return to Mei-sama? Her hand jumped to her hair and she ran her fingers through the short strands, her unfocused eyes fixed on the uneven ground. Was he going to sacrifice himself again? She pursed her lips as his thought became the focus of her musings. Why must she always surround herself with people who were willing to give their lives away without a second thought? (She ignored the sneaky voice in her head that accused her of hypocrisy.) Even though she was bothered by his answer, she knew better than to pressure him for the truth.

"Alright." She said eventually, moving past the matter. "So, how are we going to do this? Obviously, we have a lot of work to do. Mind if I sit?" She'd had a very gruesome training session with Gai and Lee this morning and she didn't feel nearly as energetic as she normally did. Itachi gave a curt nod and Sakura took a seat on the ground, crossing her legs Indian-style. "Have you thought about telling someone about our situation?" She looked up to him and felt slightly uncomfortable at having to crane her neck so much. It wasn't only a physical discomfort, either.

Itachi seemed to sense that, _somehow, _and she watched in wonder as he took a sit across from her and crossed his legs in a similar style, resting his only visible arm on his knee. Sakura's eyes were immediately glued to the ring on his ring finger. It was a simple ring, with a standard metal band with the kanji for scarlet (or vermilion) painted over a red stone. But knowing that this simple ring marked him as a member of Akatsuki made the jewellery far from ordinary.

"I have thought over the possibility." His voice made her gaze snap up to his face and she blushed faintly when she saw that one of his eyebrows had raised slightly, most likely because of her staring. "But I think it will be unwise to share the information we have with someone else. We have Mei-sama's protection— " Itachi's eyes fell on thin chain around Sakura's neck. " — but others don't. Mei-sama told me that she is taking a huge risk by doing this and I don't want to put her in an uncomfortable position with the High Council."

"So we're basically all alone in this?" Sakura asked, wringing her hands together. Seeing Itachi nod, she exhaled deeply and rubbed her temples. "Well, at least I have Uchiha Itachi as a partner." She muttered to herself. "For all your faults, you're still brilliant." She said this a little louder, though she was sure he'd heard what she had previously, too. "Your genius is legendary."

Itachi inclined his head as a way of accepting her compliment and spoke. "First and foremost, we must dispose of Orochimaru." His impassive eyes flashed and the commas around his pupil started to spin alarmingly fast. Sakura sucked in a breath unconsciously, the hairs on her body standing up at the sight. Her startled reaction seemed to snap Itachi out of it and he assumed his calm exterior once again. Sakura felt envy at how quickly he regained control over his emotions.

"I agree." Sakura said firmly, her hands clenching slightly at the thought of the Snake Sannin. "He's definitely a priority right now."

"Given the knowledge I have of the whereabouts of his current base, I will be the one to deal with him personally. Your responsibility for now is to make sure Sasuke doesn't live the village." He fixed her with a stern look. "You will do everything in your powers to stop him — even attack him if necessary. You understand, do you not?"

Sakura nodded. She understood. The last time she'd been too weak to even hope to do anything to stop him — and embarrassingly enough, the thought of hurting him had been so out of her realm of understanding that the thought hadn't even _occurred_ to her — but she was a different person now. She knew that sometimes you had to do things you didn't want to in order to get the job done.

Itachi nodded, a satisfied expression settling over his features. "Good." He rose to his feet. "If you have no more questions to ask him, I will take my leave. Kisame will become suspicious if I am gone for too long."

Sakura's mouth dropped open in surprise. She did have more questions! She had so many questions. What were they going to do about Akatsuki? What about Tobi? There were some many threats and so many things to be done, they'd hardly even scratched the surface. But she understood that he was pressured about time and closed her mouth. "None, I guess." She said, rather sulkily. "When will be able to meet again?"

"I am not sure." Itachi replied, his voice falling into a monotone. Sakura just now realised that he had allowed some emotions to seep through his voice while they had talked. Wow. "Kisame's presence is a setback but I will find a way to set another meeting. Meanwhile, I will be contacting you through the cats, whenever they agree to deliver my messages."

"O-okay.." Sakura said hesitantly. That sounded like she wouldn't be hearing from him for a while.

"Focus all of your attention on your task, Sakura-san, and the time will fly by without you noticing." Itachi said, once again showing uncanny ability to read her. She blinked and nodded slowly. "I will contact you as soon as possible."

Sakura nodded and opened her mouth to bid him goodbye, when a sudden thought struck her. "Hey!" Itachi stopped and looked at her. "How did you manage to get us here without having a permission from the Nara?"

She watched in wonder as the corners of his lips twitched into something that resembled a smile. "Genjutsu." He said and his entire form dissolved in a flock of crows, much to her surprise.

She stood still for several moments and then shook her head, a small smile coming to her lips. "Incredible." She muttered and headed back towards the village.


End file.
